1,720,961 research outputs found
Evolutionary Competition as Religion: A Religio-Biological Model of the Maori and Vaisnava Sahajiya Traditions
No full textWithin the modern field of Religious Studies, there exists an epistemological divide between structuralist and post-structuralist thought. Structuralists seek to find underlying and universally applicable knowledge about religion, while post-structuralists argue that traditions must be studied within their own specific geographic, temporal, and cultural contexts. In an aim to reconcile these two disparate paradigms, I introduce the Religio-Biological Model and apply it to two distinct religious traditions: the Maori and the Vaisnava Sahajiya. Drawing from both religious and biological theory (specifically multilevel selection theory), this thesis seeks to create an interdisciplinary framework for the future study of religion that cohesively binds together culture, history, and biology. Through this introduction of a common epistemological model, divisions within and between academic disciplines can be reduced.Religious StudiesBachelors of Arts (BA
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Do Those Who Come Here Belong Here?: Sense of Belonging and Multicultural Organization Membership in Multiracial and Monoracial Students of Color at a Predominantly White Institution
No full textIn college settings, sense of belonging has been linked to higher rates of academic engagement and success, persistence in college, use of campus resources, and general well-being (Baumeister & Leary, 1995; Gopalan & Brady, 2020; Roeser et al., 1996; Trujillo & Tanner, 2014). Multiracial students can struggle to find a sense of belonging in multicultural organizations that are designed for monoracial students of color, especially at a Predominantly White Institution (PWI) (Ozaki & Johnston, 2008). This study aimed to measure the sense of belonging among multiracial and monoracial students of color at a PWI as well as evaluate multiracial students’ experiences in and perceptions of multicultural organizations on campus that are designed for monoracial students of color. We also examined risk factors (i.e., threats to well-being) and resilience factors (i.e., ability to cope, adapt, and sustain well-being) (Yoo et al., 2016). Monoracial undergraduate students of color (n = 88) and multiracial undergraduate students (n = 61) completed this study. Participants were asked to answer demographic questions, the Racial Experience Measure (Yoo et al., 2016), and the Sense of Belonging Instrument (Hagerty & Patusky, 1995). Results indicated that multiracial students were significantly less likely to join multicultural organizations on campus. Additionally, multiracial students reported similar amounts of risk factors related to negative well-being (i.e., discrimination, perceived ambiguity) as monoracial students of color. Furthermore, multiracial students experienced significantly less of two of the resilience factors associated with ability to cope and sustain well-being (i.e., safe and affirming space, engagement, shifting expressions) than monoracial students of color. From these results we can conclude that there is a need for a space designated for multiracial students on campus so that multiracial students can feel like they belong at a PWI.PsychologyBachelors of Science (BS
(Re-) Staging Translation: Meaningful Interaction with Hindu Devotional Objects in the Western museum
No full textIn this thesis, the Hindu devotional object will be tracked through many contexts and its role will change based on its geographic and cultural location. First, the original ritual context will be established, paying specific attention to ceremonial processes and actions that activate the objects. Next, I will sketch the approaches to interpretation used in the two museum spaces. In this movement between spaces, the Hindu object is de- and then re-contextualized. Museums can discover from this narrative the many ways that meaning is constructed, within and outside of a Western framework. It is this pivotal period of re-contextualization that forms the basis of my inquiry and my argument. My recommendations for gallery design and interpretation will focus on moments of translation of Hindu objects as they move between contexts and on ways to increase transparency surrounding the translation processes at work in permanent galleries. Only through a decolonization not just of the museum but of the museum experience itself can Hindu objects be re-contextualized in a manner that regains their vitality and captivation.Art and Art HistoryBachelors of Arts (BA
A By-Letter Comparison of the Andalusian and Maghrebi Calligraphic Scripts
No full textThis text endeavors to provide the first process-based means by which to differentiate the Andalusian calligraphic script from its closest relative, the Maghrebi style, while also proposing and utilizing a novel means of text extraction and preservation for use with poor-quality digitizations of texts. While specific arguments regarding the historical relationship between the two styles are not focused upon, the goal of this work is to further study into these topics by allowing scholars a better way by which to determine if a given artifact is of Andalusian origin. The model of text extraction is also generated as a basic methodology with universal applicability to languages and script studies, as a means by which to expand the uptake of documents for academic study.Religious StudiesBachelors of Arts (BA
Recommended from our members
Bhakti Religion and Tantric Magic in Mughal India: Kacchvahas, Ramanandis, and Naths, circa 1500-1700
Get PDFThis dissertation sheds new light on the nature and development of Hindu devotional religiosity (bhakti) by drawing attention to bhakti's understudied historical relationships with Tantra, Yoga, and Sufism. Specifically, this thesis explains the phenomenal rise of bhakti in early modern north India as a process of identity and community formation fundamentally connected to Sufi-inflected critiques of tantric and yogic religiosity. With the advent of the Mughal Empire in the sixteenth century, new alliances--most notably Akbar's with the Kacchvaha royal clan of Amer--led to the development of a joint Mughal-Rajput court culture and religio-political idiom in which Vaishnava bhakti institutional forms became key symbols of power and deportment, and thus bhakti communities became beneficiaries of extensive patronage. Through a study of the life and works of the important but little-known bhakti poet-saint Agradas, this thesis offers insight into how these bhakti communities competed for patronage and followers. If the rise of bhakti was inseparable from Mughal socio-political developments, it was also contingent upon the successful formation of a new bhakti identity. This thesis centers on the Ramanandi community at Galta, comparing them with the Nath yogis to show the development of this bhakti identity, one defined especially in opposition to the "other" of the tantric yogi and shakta. It also contributes a broad study of early modern bhakti poetry and hagiography demonstrating the rise of new, Sufi-inflected, exclusivist bhakti attitudes that stigmatized key aspects of tantric and yogic religiosity, and that therein prefigured orientalist-colonialist depictions of bhakti as "religion" and Tantra as "magic.
An Investigation of the Effectiveness of a Short-Term Meditation Intervention on Stress and Interoception in Novice Meditators: An fNIRS Study
No full textPrevious research on meditation interventions has demonstrated potential benefits for reducing perceived stress levels, lowering blood pressure, and enhancing interoceptive awareness. The present study investigated whether participants who listened to a ten-minute guided meditation would have greater decreases in stress and increases in interoception than a comparison group who listened to a ten-minute TED talk. Among our sample (n = 100), most participants identified as being White (63%), female (75%), and reported a mean age of 20.00 years (SD = 1.08). Participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: one of which listened to a TED talk followed by a guided meditation, while the comparison group listened to two TED Talks. Results indicated that both groups experienced significant reductions in self-reported perceived stress and systolic blood pressure from pre- to post-intervention. No significant changes were observed in diastolic blood pressure or interoception across either condition. Subgroup analyses revealed that gender, minority status, and socioeconomic status did not moderate the effects of the meditation intervention. However, individuals reporting high levels of dietary restraint in the meditation condition exhibited significantly greater reductions in stress than participants with low and average levels of dietary restraint. Additionally, no significant differences in neural activity, as measured by functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), were found between the two groups. Overall, our findings align with existing literature which suggests that brief meditation practices can effectively reduce stress and systolic blood pressure. However, meditation was not found to be more effective than listening to a ten-minute TED talk. Notably, the stress-reducing effects of meditation appear to be particularly pronounced among individuals with high dietary restraint.NeuroscienceBachelors of Science (BS
- …
